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CHAPTERFORTY-FIVE
“Where has the week gone?” Nikki asks as she spreads a basket of supplies on the vanity in the room that Kieran said was for me to enjoy on my own.
“I know. Right? It’s been a whirlwind. I’m sure the kids have had a good time.”
“They love this place.”
“I do too,” I admit softly as I let my eyes rove over my room. It’s so pretty and the gesture Kieran made for me makes my eyes sting.
Yet, today’s the first time I’ve stepped foot in the room. Every night—heck, every moment we could in the last week, when Kieran hasn’t been attending to Mafia duties, we’ve been together in our room. And a few other places...
I’ve enjoyed the view of looking up at my handsome fiancé while he was above me, driving me wild, in so many different beautiful rooms of our mansion. His chiseled warrior body beneath the hand-painted ceilings, below vast skylights with shining stars, framed by vaulted rooflines, under the canopy of a bed with gauzy, amorous drapes.
To say I’ve been spoiled is beyond pale for the way he’s taken care of me.
But with every breath we shared, every lingering kiss, every heart-pounding orgasm, we both knew...
Time was slipping through our fingers.
Each moment weaving the final strands of a thin and fragile web. One that will be tested like a spider’s web by the prey it will snare at the wedding.
Anything could happen. Including our deaths.
“Earth to Carra,” Ariel teases as she places a tray of beautifully arranged appetizers on the vanity. “I brought you something to keep your energy up.”
I smile through my nerves. In a few hours, I’ll show up at a church for a wedding that’s not going to happen so over seventy-five of the Irish Mafia’s most vile men can be taken into custody in one fell swoop.
A clenching shudder rattles my spine and sets my teeth in a vice lock. Neither Ariel nor Nikki knows what’s really happening today and I have to watch every word and expression, or they’ll know something’s wrong. “Thanks, I was just... thinking about Kieran.”
They both laugh appreciatively.
“As you should,” Nikki says through a knowing grin. “He’s a very impressive man.”
For a few seconds, I relax. “He is. He proves that to me over and over.”
Dropping to sit on the floor crisscross-applesauce style, Ariel says, “He did really well with Finn this week.”
“That boy’s enamored,” Nikki adds. “And I’m happy to say that Marcus is really taking to Kieran as well.”
“Thank god,” I say with an exhale of relief. “I mean, I thought they were bonding, but you know Marcus, and I wasn’t sure if he was just placating you.”
With a laugh, Nikki says, “He’s not that good at faking. With Marcus, you get what you see.”
Kieran, however, is more like a home with closets of skeletons and things buried under the floorboards. More a match for me, it seems, because I’ve got no issue with that. It takes a man like him to be able to face down the monsters I’ve got on my heels.
I shake myself and refocus. Get this behind us... and then we can start to live. I have to believe it’s happening.
When Nikki’s through with organizing her supplies, she brings a brush to my side and begins sweeping my hair back.
“I feel lucky to have you girls. My very own hair stylist, and my favorite chef.”
Ariel chews at her thumbnail, my clue that she’s as nervous as me. “I wish you'd let me go with you today.”
Quickly, I say, “No. This is not up for discussion, it’s too dangerous. I need to know all of you are safe here.”
With a frustrated huff, she crosses her arms. “I knew you’d say that.”
Nikki brushes my hair slowly, carefully twisting it up. “What do you think of something like this? I’ll pull out some soft tendrils around your face. Your long, delicate neck will be perfectly highlighted with that dress style.”
